If I was asked to describe my ideal choral educator, it would be someone with an equal combination of these three traits.
Of course, you must have skill. A great choral educator knows how to tune a chord, cue the tenors, select great repertoire, teach it effectively and well, and conduct with a beautiful and clear pattern. Skill is essential.
A choral educator must have vision. They must know where they are taking their choir students – one, two, five years ahead. Visions change over time, and aren’t always achieved, but if a choral educator doesn’t have a vision for what they want their students to experience, they will spin their wheels and not experience anything notable.
Just as important, a choral educator must have limitless empathy. Because the music requires it, but just as important because the students need it. A choral educator must show empathy and love for their students with a depth and consistency that seems exhausting from the outside.
A choral educator needs all three: skill, vision, and empathy. None is more important than another, and a deficit in one will vastly diminish the effectiveness of the educator.
(I happen to be married to the best choral conductor I know. If you want to see someone who embodies all three of these, watch the amazing Mandy Mikita Scott do her work.)